Summer 2010 (Vol. 27, No.2)

A Message from the President

As part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act passed in March, 2010, a 10 percent excise tax on indoor tanning services went into effect July 1.

According to the Congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, this tax will raise an estimated $2.7 billion in revenues by 2019. But more importantly, in the view of The Skin Cancer Foundation, it should encourage people to avoid ultraviolet (UV) tanning. Last year, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, affiliated with the World Health Organization, declared ultraviolet radiation from tanning devices among the most dangerous forms of cancer-causing radiation. Tanning bed users are at higher risk of developing all forms of skin cancer, including potentially deadly melanomas of the skin and eyes.

Sun & Skin News Summer 2010 (Vol. 27, No.2)

Recently released data show an alarming increase in skin cancer incidence: A study in the Archives of Dermatology reveals that more than two million people in the US develop over 3.5 million nonmelanoma skin cancers every year.Read More

On average, indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanners are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma than non-tanners, according to a new study; and the more time a person has spent tanning indoors, the higher the odds of developing the disease. Read More

I’ll be outdoors a lot this summer, and I want to protect myself from insects as well as the sun. Would it be better to use a product that combines insect repellent and sunscreen, or two different products? What would be the best way to apply and reapply these products?Read More